


Luck

by Jathis



Series: The Steward and the Sorcerer [42]
Category: Sofia the First (Cartoon)
Genre: Familiars, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:14:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28568313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: Greylock puts some things in perspective for Cedric.
Series: The Steward and the Sorcerer [42]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091021
Kudos: 3





	Luck

The last thing he expected to see when entering the kitchens was a magpie indulging in their own little bowl of cut up fruits. Yet there he was, standing just inside of the doorway and watching as the black and white bird happily ate a raspberry. The kitchen staff walked around as if this was a wholly normal occurrence and he wondered how long the magpie had been in the castle.

“Who are you?” Greylock asked, slowly approaching the bird. He stopped when the bird looked up at him, holding his hands up to look as non-threatening as possible. “Just walking over! Nothing too serious now is it?”

The magpie stared at him a moment more and then went back to their fruit. This time a cherry was chosen and they plucked out the pit, placing it on a napkin before eating the rest of it with glee.

“Are you someone’s pet?” Greylock wondered as he stepped closer. He frowned, tilting his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I doubt a Royal would keep a magpie as a pet. They’re far too smart and social to be treated like a canary. So then where did you come from?”

The magpie picked up an apple slice. They walked along the rim of the bowl until they were closer to Greylock and they dropped the apple slice in front of him.

“Ah thank you,” he said, taking the slice. He looked around and held up a hand to get someone’s attention. “Whose magpie is this?” he asked.

“Oh that’s Rosemary! She’s Cedric’s familiar!” the young man answered. “She likes to come down for a snack around this time so we always have a bowl ready for her.”

Greylock looked back at the magpie. Rosemary was holding herself a little higher, proudly preening herself in front of him. “So he  _ did _ manage to Bond with someone else,” he murmured. “I must say I would have never expected old Red Prick to Bond with a magpie of all things!”

Rosemary fluttered from the bowl onto Greylock’s shoulder. She toyed with the string that kept his monocle connected to his shirt with her beak.

“I suppose you want me to bring you back to your tower?”

The magpie took off his monocle, playing with it.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he chuckled before heading out.

***

Cedric was surprised when Greylock arrived at his door, Rosemary on his shoulder. His familiar held the man’s monocle in her beak, occasionally tapping it on his shoulder. “I see you’ve finally met Rosemary.”

“I’m bringing back your familiar,” he laughed. “I will however need to take back the monocle,” he added, glancing at the bird. He held up a hand and the magpie reluctantly dropped the monocle into it before fluttering over to Cedric’s shoulder. She started to preen his mismatched hair.

“I see you found a new familiar,” Greylock said, “and a magpie of all animals!”

“Baileywick found her when she was a baby,” Cedric explained. “I just took care of her and she decided to stay. The Bond came later when she found the stone.”

“You’ve always been a lucky one, Cedric.”

He raised an eyebrow at that, surprised at his words. “Lucky?”

He turned his head to cough briefly before turning back to him and nodding. “Your place in Enchancia was already set before you started school. Your king is one of the most forgiving men I think who has ever existed. Now you not only have a new familiar but a magpie,” he explained.

The royal sorcerer blushed. He hadn’t really thought about it until now but compared to other sorcerers he was very lucky. Not everyone had some form of job security. Greylock was proof of the cruelty other kings could do, contrasting greatly with Roland’s forgiveness of his attempt against him. As for the familiar…

“You never did form a Bond,” he noted.

The scarred man shrugged, leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed. “Not for lack of trying,” he said. “Some of us are simply not meant to Bond like others.” He hummed, smiling at the other. “You’ve always been good with birds. I saw you feeding them sometimes at Hexley Hall.”

“It’s not as if my social life was exactly thriving when we were students.”

“And look at you now. Cedric blushed and Greylock laughed as he turned to leave. “I’ll see you later, Bed Sick.”

“Not if I can help it, Smelly” he teased. 

The other burst into fresh laughter at the man’s attempt with his alias. “Well done, Cedric! Very well done.” 

Cedric watched him leave, finding himself incredibly lucky for how his life had turned out.


End file.
